At least ten Islamic State militants were killed in airstrikes launched by army near borders with Syria, the military media said. “Iraqi fighter jets launched airstrikes that destroyed three vehicles in north of Akashat region, west of Anbar,” the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell reported on Thursday. “The shelling left more than 10 IS militants killed,” it added.
In late September, Iraqi army announced the total recapture of Annah. Troops also liberated Akashat region, between Rutba town, on borders with Jordan, and Qaim, on borders with Syria. Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them in 2015 and 2016. Anbar’s western towns of Qaim and Rawa have been held by the extremist group since 2014, when it occupied one third of Iraq to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”.
On Wednesday, the Joint Operations Command said huge losses were inflicted on IS in Qaim, one of its two last bastions in western Anbar, as F-16 jets launched airstrikes, killing man militants. U.S.-led coalition warplanes reportedly pounded IS members in Qaim while setting up barricades preparing for an attack on security forces, killing ten of them.
In the same context, Two persons were wounded as an explosive device went off in south of Baghdad, a police source said on Friday. “A bomb exploded on Friday near a market in al-Radwaniya, south of Baghdad, leaving two persons wounded,” the source told AlSumaria News.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added, “security cordoned off the blast spot, while the two wounded were transferred to nearby hospital for treatment.” Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State Sunni extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
A monthly count by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which excludes security members deaths, said 196 civilians were killed, while 381 others were wounded due to violence and armed conflicts during the month of September. The fatalities included 10 foreign nationals. Baghdad was the most affected province with 37 deaths and 157 injuries. Dhi Qar province came in the second place with 82 killed and 93 injured. Anbar came in the third place with 20 killed and 46 injured.
The Iraqi capital has seen almost daily bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary troops and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake Islamic State-occupied areas in 2016.
On the other hand, Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga troops and the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces exchanged fire Friday morning, hours after deadly clashes were reported in Nineveh. Kurdish-owned Rudaw network said the two sides exchanged heavy artillery fire on a Kirkuk-Erbil road at Alton Kobri area. PMF media have yet to confirm the clash.
Earlier reports have told of limited, but deadly, clashes between the two forces last week as Iraqi government forces invaded Kirkuk. A medical official in Sulaymaniyah was quoted last week saying that Peshmerga deaths since the Iraqi incursion in Kirkuk stood at 84, with more than 160 wounded.
Iraqi troops, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces, took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on Tuesday, fulfilling instructions made earlier by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government. Abadi has ordered to evacuate all armed groups except for local police forces.
PMF spokesman, Ahmed al-Assadi, said Thursday mobilization forces withdraw from all positions to outside Kirkuk, leaving security duties to local police.
The Iraqi military command said it became in control over all of the province’s oil fields, military bases and government facilities. The military takeover came after Kurdistan voted in September to secede from Iraq. Iraqi officials have frequently reiterated they would proceed until federal government control is fully re-established in disputed territories.